Text 21
ācerur vividhāḥ krīḍā
vāhya-vāhaka-lakṣaṇāḥ
yatrārohanti jetāro
vahanti ca parājitāḥ
āceruḥ — they performed; vividhāḥ — various; krīḍāḥ — sports; vāhya — by the carried; vāhaka — the carrier; lakṣaṇāḥ — characterized; yatra — in which; ārohanti — climb; jetāraḥ — the winners; vahanti — carry; ca — and; parājitāḥ — the defeated.
The boys played various games involving carriers and passengers. In these games the winners would climb up on the backs of the losers, who would have to carry them.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī quotes the following relevant verse from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (5.9.12):
hariṇākrīḍanaṁ nāma
bāla-krīdaṇakaṁ tataḥ
prakrīḍatā hi te sarve
dvau dvau yugapad utpatan
“They then played the childhood game known as hariṇākrīḍanam, in which each boy paired off with an opponent and all the boys simultaneously attacked their respective rivals.”